A Dream Or A Nightmare?
by milomeepit
Summary: A mad scientist older brother, a defective laser. A TV character crush, a dream of another world. But when that wish to live in her ideal world comes true, with a horrible finality, will it turn out to be a dream... or a nightmare? Marshall LeexOC
1. A Mad Scientist For A Brother

Juli Morlan lay on her bed, looking up at a familiar poster on her ceiling. Marshall Lee Abadeer of Aaa from the TV show Adventure Time.

"Why can't you be real, Marshall? You are all I've ever wanted in a guy." She sighed.

"_Juliana, te necesito abajo_!" Her brother, Rindle, yelled up to her. "_Ahora, por favor_!" Juli was the only one who spoke English at home. Rindle didn't seem to understand why he should even bother to learn the language properly, since he didn't speak with people much outside of his work, never went outside much, and when he did at work he normally had a translator.

She groaned. She loved her older brother, she really did, but with his mad scientist-inventor ways, ever since Mami and Pap died, it sometimes seemed like she was the one taking care of him rather than the other way around.

"I am coming, Rin!" She called, sliding off of the mound of her pillows, shooting one last glance at the god-like vampire that looked down on her, eyes liquid rubies and a cute smirk on his face, guitar in hand as he gazed at her.

She dived down the stairs, hearing the tell-tale sound of something exploding in Rindle's lab. She grabbed the fire extinguisher off of the wall in the kitchen, flying down the hall towards his lab. "_Dios mio_, please, please do not let there be a fire!" She prayed as she threw open the door.

She charged in, fire extinguisher spraying white foam all over the room. "_Vuelve, _Juli!" Rindle screamed, diving behind his desk. "_Aléjate mientras puedas_!"

But it was too late. Whatever contraption he'd been working on exploded in a flurry of sparks. It shot out a handful of bolts of green and yellow energy, several of which hit Juli in rapid succession. She gave a strangled scream and disappeared with an odd slurping noise, leaving behind only her purple ring.


	2. Only As Impossible As You Believe

Juli's eyes fluttered as she regained consciousness. "Rindle Javier Enzo Alonso Raimundo Miguel Morlan, one of these days, I swear I'm going to kill you!" She groaned. She was met with a smug chuckle, which, for some reason, was really familiar. She opened her eyes and gave a half-strangled squeak.

Standing next to her in the shade of the trees, umbrella folded away in his hand, was Marshall Lee. He raised an eyebrow at her as she shook. "_Santo maldicón, lo que está pasando aquí, Rindle!?"_ She yelped, scrabbling backwards on her butt away from him.

"Whoa, calm down!" Marshall held up his hands. "Ah… yo no hable… español?" He slowly floated off the ground towards her, and she flinched away, giving a small scream.

"_Quedarse atrás_!" She squealed at him, raising a fist. "_Te golpearé_!"

His shoulders slumped. "I don't speak Spanish!" He yelled, facepalming

That finally pierced her brain. "I… uh…" She started shaking again.

"Look, I have this friend who's good with people. Prince Bubba Gumball? I'll leave you to talk to him." Marshall shrugged, obviously happy that she at least seemed to understand _some_ English.

She growled at him. "Drop me with the gum wad, I will kick your ass so hard you will be tasting leather from my boots for a week. _Idiota loco_..."

He blinked, taking a step back from her. "Oookay… no Bubba. Got it."

She sighed. Then, it suddenly hit her again who she was talking to. _Marshall Lee Abadeer_. He was a fictional character! This was impossible! Yet… as her brother so often said, everything is only as impossible as you believe it. "How did I get here? Did you see?" She demanded.

"You fell out of a tree, I think. There was this huge _bang_, and you hit the ground. I didn't want to touch you in case I hurt you." He shrugged.

Her heart melted slightly. _'Of course I could never stay mad at you, Marshy…'_ She thought, and then shook her head. "Hey… can I stay at your house for a little while?" She asked him.

"Well, I don't even know your name, kid." He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh!" She blushed. "Juliana Carmelita Isabella Juanita Eleanora Estella Morlan." She said softly.

"Well, that's kind of a mouthful, isn't it?" He smirked.

"To someone not used to it, I guess." She laughed quietly, the blush spreading across her cheeks at an alarming rate.

"I'm Marshall Lee Abadeer. Friends call me Marshall or Marsh for short." He grinned crookedly, and she felt her stomach flip-flop.

"Cool name." She said, surprised by how calm she sounded. "So, can I stay with you?"

"Yeah, you can crash at my place until you get back on your feet. So, on a completely unrelated note, are you a human? You don't look like a Nightospherian, Candy Person, Lumpy Space Person or anything else I've ever seen, really."

"Um… yeah." She replied hesitantly, thinking of Fionna, who was meant to be the only human left in Aaa, with the possible exception of Steven Strong. "Don't tell Fionna, though, will you?"

He looked surprised. "Okay. I promise I won't."

"Wait, repeat after me. _Juro solemnemente que no voy a decirle a Fionna de tu existencia._ Repeat."

"Erm.. _Juro… solemnente que no... voy a decirla a Fionna da tu... existencia._" He tried.

She waved a hand. "Close enough. I made you say, 'I solemnly swear not to tell Fionna of your existence."

"Oh, okay. As long as it wasn't anything stupid." He smiled.

"Cools. Let's go!" She grinned back at him, raising to her feet. He offered an arm to her, but she spotted the joy buzzer in the crease of his elbow. She took his arm, carefully and discreetly turning it over before she placed her hand on it, sending a shock up his arm that made him jump.

"Whoa!" He yelped, and then looked at her, an impressed look on his face. "Nicely done." He smiled, holding up his hand for a high-five.

She clapped her hand to his, laughing. "Come on, you red-sucking nitwit."

He bowed. "Why, of course, my lady."


	3. It Never Happened

Juli stepped into Marshall's house, not really sure what to expect. However, when she walked in, she was surprised to find that it was a mirror of Marceline's home, just in a blue colour scheme rather than her pinky-purple one.

"_Asombroso_…" She breathed.

"Hey, I know that word!" Marshall said. "What, were you expecting a pigsty or something?" He closed the door and floated over to her, insulted.

"What? No, no, god, no!" She said hurriedly. "It just wasn't what I expected. I thought your house would be more… extravagant."

"Oh." He deflated. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped on you like that. I never meant to come off mean or anything."

"Nah, it's cool man. Jeez, you sound like Bubba." She laughed.

He brightened. "No way!" He laughed. "I do _not_ sound like that nerd!"

"Yeah-huh!" She grinned. "You totally do!"

"I'll show you!" He growled playfully, suddenly zipping at her.

She squealed and dived behind his couch. "No! Leave me alone!"

"Nu-uh. You compared me to him; you must pay for such a heinous crime against my ego." He grinned. He swooped at her, grabbing at her raven-black hair.

She reached up to swat him away, but hit him in the throat by mistake. He gagged and smacked against the wall, falling down on top of her. She closed her eyes, preparing for the impact. She felt him fall onto her, knocking her onto her back, landing on her chest. She opened her eyes to see his face, _right there_, lips about four millimetres from hers. She, only semi-consciously, tipped her head slightly so that their lips brushed against each other.

The next thing she knew, she was being swung onto the couch by a very gabbly and apologetic Marshall. His cheeks were bright red as he babbled semi-incoherently. "I am _so, so_ sorry, Juli, I shouldn't have started screwing around like that, it was all my fault, I'm such an idiot-"

"Dude!" She said loudly, and he froze. "Chill out, it's fine. I'm the one who choked you, anyways!" She shrugged. "It was my fault, so cool it, because there's stupid coming out of your mouth hole. Clear?"

He nodded. "Right. Sorry." He scratched the back of his head. "So, uh… where do you wanna sleep?"

"Uh,_ a bed_, maybe, smart guy?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah! You can have my bed. I'll just float wherever to sleep." He smiled.

Apparently, the previous, most perfect moment in her life had never happened. Fine then. She could deal with that.


	4. That's An Invasion Of Personal Space!

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE: My apologies to people who don't know Spanish, but Juli _****is****_ Spanish, so she speaks it a lot, especially when talking to herself or when she's scared, angry or surprised. Sorry. I just stole from Google Translate, so I suggest you use that if you want to translate what she's saying. Once again, sorry._**

**_-milomeepit_**

Juliana awoke the next morning, yawning widely before rolling over on to her side, mumbling sleepily to herself. "_Dios mio_, what a strange dream… I must tell Rindle about it… I wonder if he'll make breakfast… probably not. I'll do it later." She yawned again, trying to catch a few more minutes of snoozing. She rolled onto her back and looked up.

The next moment, she shot out of bed and zipped into a bathroom that wasn't in her house. She hunkered down in the bathtub after closing the door, biting her hand to stop herself from screaming.

She covered her face in her hands and whispered a poem to herself, on she'd learnt the English language, in Spanish. "_Pensando en ti, dondequiera que estés. Oramos por nuestras penas a fin, y esperamos que nuestros corazones se mezclarán. Ahora voy a dar un paso adelante para hacer realidad este deseo. Y quién sabe: a partir de un nuevo viaje puede no ser tan difícil, o tal vez ya ha empezado. Hay muchos mundos, pero comparten el mismo cielo - Un cielo, un destino."_ It was from a video game she'd played as a child, Kingdom something, she thought. The name 'Kairi' came to mind… a letter, perhaps?

There was a quiet knock on the door. "Juli? You okay in there?" Marshall called. He cracked open the door when she didn't reply, and floated in to see her hiding behind the shower curtain, eyes wide.

"_Estoy realmente aquí ... en Aaa ... eres realmente ... oh dios mio ... Cómo es esto posible? Usted es un personaje de la televisión! Cómo ..._" She jabbered at him in Spanish.

"Whoa, slow down, _chica_, Dora didn't teach me that yet!" He held up his hands in defence.

She collapsed into semi-hysterical giggles. "_Oh, dios mio_… you're funnier in person, you know that?"

He looked confused and annoyed. "I was under the impression you'd never met me before. Didn't know me."

"Oh! Uh, everybody's heard of the Great Marshall Lee!" She bluffed.

He raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reason my coffee shop guy doesn't fangirl at me, then?"

"Erm…" She blushed. "Okay, _maybe_ that's a _tiny_ fib."

Marshall coughed, making it sound remarkably like the word '_colossal'_.

She smiled. "Eh, heh-heh-heh… yeah, it _was_… um…"

He put a finger to her lips. "Shush. You're only digging yourself a deeper hole. Now-" He was interrupted by the phone on the table in his room ringing.

He floated out to it. "Probs just Bubba. Make yourself some breakfast. I probably have _something_ in my fridge you can eat."

She nodded and slid down the ladder, wandering into the kitchen, snagging a strawberry out of the bowl on the countertop. She poked around in his fridge until she found an apple, cut it up and started frying it in a pan.

As it sizzled, she pondered over her current situation. "_Qué se supone que debo hacer ahora_?" She murmured to herself, poking it with a spatula, letting the juice caramelize a bit before she poured it into a bowl to let it cool.

As she stared at it, as if the fried fruit would somehow hold the answers to the Universe, a pair of hands silently snuck up on her and tweaked her sides.

She jumped, giving out a yelp. "_Oh, Dios mío, idiota! Me has asustado!_" She squeaked, slapping Marshall on the arm.

"And in English, that was?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Erm, pretty much 'Oh, my god, idiot! You scared me!'" Juli explained, cheeks tinging red again.

Marshall regarded her interestedly for a few moments before swooping down next to her, his mouth inches from her throat. He slowly trailed upwards, lips gently brushing her skin… suddenly, he closed the distance completely, and very, very gently sucked some of the red out of Juli's cheeks.

She was speechless. The sensation was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. There was the feeling of the universe tugging slightly at you, the light beams that gave you colour suddenly turning confused and wobbly, and she could literally _feel_ something behind sucked from her cheek.

After a few moments, Marshall pulled away and grinned cheekily at her. "That's your fault for having cheeks that turn such a delicious-looking shade of red. Quite tasty, too." He smirked at her shocked face.

"Did you _really_ just do what I think you did?" She demanded. "Did you really just suck colour out of my cheeks?"

"Yup." He smiled innocently.

"That is an invasion of personal space, you know!" She tapped her foot.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said 'sincerely', eyes wide and innocent, but the smirk tugging at his mouth betrayed him.

She sighed and shook her head. "Look, Marshall, I need to get home… but I guess first I need to eat. _Breakfast is the most important meal of the day_." She mimicked Mami, picking up her fork and spearing some of her apple.

Marshall laughed. "Whatever you say, O Mistress of the Long Name and Spanish Babble." He gave a little bow, smirking, and floated out to watch TV.


	5. Candy-natomy!

"So, you wanna go meet some of my friends?" Marshall suggested.

"_Adelnate_! Let's do it!" Juli smiled. "But you have to promise me something."

"Aw, I don't have to take another oath in Spanish, do I?" Marshall complained.

She raised an eyebrow. "And what's wrong with Spanish?"

"It's hard!" He whined.

"It is _not_, you _idiota_." She said fondly, patting him on the head. "I'll teach you some Spanish and cook for you, and you lend me your bed. Deal?"

"Deal." He shook her outstretched hand.

"I was just going to make you promise to sing something later." She pouted, hoping that he'd react accordingly.

He did. He sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll sing something for you. Just quit the face. It's depressing."

She smiled cutely. "Thank you, Marshy." She cooed, taking his arm and pulling him out the door.

**XXX**

After about half an hour of floating, Marshall carrying Juli, as she was ridiculously light, they arrived at the treefort. Juli was rather nervous about meeting Fionna and Cake, as she wasn't actually really sure what they'd think of her. She loved Adventure Time, so she had an idea of who they'd make friends with, but she was still rather nervy.

"_Dios mio_, what if they don't like me?" She asked Marshall as they landed.

"Green beans to them, then." He shrugged, putting a protective arm around her shoulders.

Juli held her breath for a moment, but the arm was removed as quickly as it had appeared on her shoulders. Just a _friendly_, fleeting hug of protection. Friendzoned, it appeared, for the moment. She walked up and knocked on the door.

Fionna opened it. "Oh, hey there! I'm Fionna."

"I know." Juli smiled weakly. "I got dragged over here by this _loco_." She jerked a thumb at Marshall, who put on an innocent expression. "I've been informed of your names, not much else, though."

"Don't worry about him. He can be a total jerk some days, but he's pretty cool and harmless." Fionna waved a hand airily.

Juli grinned. "Cool. I'll remember that. I'm Juliana, Juli to my friends. Mostly because I hate my name." She wrinkled her nose, then shrugged.

"Pleased to meet you." Fionna smiled, shaking her hand.

"Hey, Fi." Marshall floated over, umbrella protecting him from the sun, as per usual. "I see you two have acquainted yourselves with each other." He smirked.

Juli's heart pounded dizzily for a moment before she realised that Marshall may well have something going on with the human girl next to her. She studied Fionna silently, carefully watching her face, body language and the way she held herself. There didn't seem to be anything more than a friendly conversation going on, but who could tell, even with Juli's character reading?

She told herself to just keep a lid on it around other people. It'd probably be the safest option until Marshall decided what he thought of her.

In the meantime, though, Fionna had dragged her inside and was showing off the treefort's highlights. "Here's the TV, and here's the kitchen, and mine and Cake's room is up there-"

"Speaking of which, where _is_ Kitty?" Marshall interrupted.

"She's off with Lord Monichromicorn." Fionna shrugged. "After once again refusing to explain what Tier 15 is."

"Good. You're still a kid, so don't even think about that stuff." Marshall tousled her bunny ears. She grabbed his arm and casually flipped him, slamming him down behind the couch.

"_Bueno, peligroso mucho?_" Juli backed up a little, hands held in front of her.

Marshall, however, was absolutely fine. "Jeez, Fi, lighten up! I was just kidding around."

"So was I." She said sweetly. "Now say you're sorry for calling me a kid. Before I extract your spleen through your nostrils."

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry for calling you a kid!" He groaned, sifting through his hair with his fingers.

Juli stood by the doorway, eyes wide. "Does this happen often?" She asked quietly.

"Unsettlingly so." Marshall said cheerfully, turning to her. "C'mon, let's go introduce you to Bubba."

"_Oh, no! ¿Tengo que hacerlo? Annoying principito rosa …_" She groaned.

"I caught 'oh no' and 'annoying'. He's not that bad, really." Marshall assured her.

"But he's so… so… prissy and pink and… girly!" She spluttered. "A male should not wear that much pink, bake little pretty cupcakes, be so prissy and be able to scream so… high-pitched. That's a fact, right there."

He shrugged. "True, I guess. But remember that he _is_ made pretty much of genetics and sugar, so he doesn't exactly have any testosterone..." He put a thoughtful finger to his lips. "He could have been a girl if he'd been raised differently... wonder what started him off as a guy? I'll have to ask him later... or should that be 'it'? Candy People are confusing." He looked at her with an almost pained expression.

"Just because Gumball's body has been _moulded_ male, doesn't mean he's an _it_, Marshall." Fionna admonished. She paused. "How do you tell a boy Peppermint from a girl Peppermint?"

Both of them looked at Juli with identical pained, thoughtful expressions. "Candy People are confusing!" They whined.

She burst out laughing, due to the fact that she herself had spent many a sleepless night wondering this herself.

"You coming, Fi?" Marshall asked over Juli's roaring cackles.

"Yeah, why not?" Fionna shrugged. "I need to ask him about some of those weird talking pastry things that attacked me yesterday, anyway."


	6. What Happened To You, Kiddo?

The trio walked into the palace to meet Gumball, Juli grumbling under her breath about having to waste her time with the sissy prince. "Do I _really_ have to be here?" She whined, dragging her feet.

"Yes." Marshall told her sternly. "Be nice, or else I'll… I'll…"

"You'll _what_?" She raised an eyebrow, amused.

"I'll kick you out." He threatened.

She put on a shocked, innocent expression. "What? You'd do that to dear, helpless, little ol' me? What shall I do? Where shall I go?" She fake swooned.

"Go live in the Grasslands and eat bark." Marshall grinned at her.

"And bathe in a river? I think not." She said, wrinkling her nose.

"Glob knows who could be watching, right, _chica_?" He winked deviously, and she gasped.

"Marshall!" She yelped, smacking his arm. "Over the line, man! And don't ever, ever, _ever_ call me _chica_ again, only my brother gets to do that, clear?!" She grabbed a fistful of his shirt, glaring at him.

"Whoa, okay, okay! I won't call you that anymore, Juli, I _swear_!" He held up his hands in a gesture of defence. "I'm sorry, okay?"

Fionna did a double take. "What did you just say? Did you just… _apologise_?" She studied Marshall carefully as he blushed, floating out of Juli's furious grasp.

"I said I was sorry. No need to make a Broadway out of it." He muttered.

"A what?" Fionna blinked, and Juli was jarringly reminded that this was a post-apocalyptic Earth. Of course Fionna wouldn't know what Broadway was!

"Famous theatre shows pre-Mushroom War." She elaborated to the poor confused adventuress.

Marshall eyed her. "How do you know what Broadway is?"

"Oh, uh, I'm just interested in earlier history of the world." She fumbled for an excuse. It was a lot easier than trying to explain that they were part of a TV show she watched back on Earth, and a lot more believable.

"Oh, fair enough." He nodded.

She relaxed slightly. Crisis averted.

"Hey, Prince Gumball!" Fi called suddenly, and she tensed up again, cringing at the thought of having to meet her least favourite character in the history of everything.

"Hello, Fionna, hello, Marshall Lee." He smiled, walking towards them. He spotted Juli and paused for a moment. "And who's this?" He asked, looking at Juli with a besotted interest.

Juliana Carmelita Juanita Isabella Eleanora Estella Morlan." She said quietly through gritted teeth. "A pleasure to meet you, Your Highness."

"The pleasure is _all_ mine, my dear lady, I assure you." He bent slightly and kissed her hand.

She grimaced slightly, shooting a pleading look at her two companions. "_Help me!_" She mouthed desperately.

Fionna laughed quietly, but Marshall fortunately came to her rescue, coming forwards and tugging Gumball back a little. "Bubba, try not to crowd her too much, okay? She's having it a little tough at the moment."

"Oh, dear. What's happened?" He asked, completely focusing on Juli.

"Actually, good question. What _did_ happen to you, _chi_… uh, I mean, kiddo?" He cut himself short at her pointed look.

"I…" She looked around at the three familiar faces surrounding her. "I… don't remember. I just know my name, that's all I remember about me. I know other stuff, like that the Ice Kingdom is up in the north of the Candy Kingdom, but I'm a blank slate." She shrugged, hoping they'd fall for the lie.

"Aw, poor thing!" Fi hugged her. "That's so terrible! Don't worry, we'll help you, _right guys_?" She glared at her friends, daring them to say otherwise.

"Absolutely! Anything you need, just ask!" Gumball nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep. Just give a holler, and we'll cater to your every whim, Majesty, _whatever_ that may be." Marshall winked, bowing low.

"_Oh, wow, es tan lindo cuando guiña así ..._" Juli blushed at Gumball's eager-to-please attitude, praying she wasn't reading too far into it, and Marshall's blatant flirting, wondering if it actually meant anything. "Thanks so much, guys." She found herself saying, hand gripping Fionna's.

Fi squeezed her hand reassuringly. "We got your back, okay?"

She nodded. "Hey, PG…" She started wonderingly.

"What?" Gumball practically tripped over his own feet zipping over to her.

"You bake, right?" He nodded. "Could I pilfer some food?"

"You ate, like, three quarters of an hour ago!" Marshall pointed out.

"Fried apple slices aren't terribly sustainitory." She countered.

"Is sustainitory even a word?" Fionna wondered out loud.

"Yes, I have plenty you could have. Anything that looks tasty, please feel free to sample, _Juliana_." He added hastily as Marshall and Fionna's food-oriented brains ticked over that, their eyes lighting up.

They looked dismayed. "No love for us, Bubba? No free food?" Marshall whined.

"I learnt my lesson last time. Food plus you two equals empty kitchen." He shook his head firmly, clearly determined to stick with his decision.

Juli smiled at him, letting her hair fall over her face a little, her wide brown eyes sparkling. "Come on, Gumball. It can't hurt, can it?" She asked sweetly.

As predicted, he melted instantly. "You're right. Go, all three of you. Enjoy the food." He smiled, dumbstruck by her smile.

As she turned away, she mentally screamed. '_Of all the people in Aaa, Prince Gumball just _had_ to be the first one to notice me like that!'_


	7. Skilzzzz

Juli flashed a smile of thanks at him and tugged Fionna and Marshall Lee into his kitchen. "Come on, guys, I'm hungry!" She grinned. Gumball followed, laughing at his friends bewildered expressions.

Sure enough, there was a large quantity of baked treats spread over the table. Fairy cakes, cupcakes, brownies, cookies, iced cakes, muffins, scones, pies, pasties, sticky buns, cinnamon rolls, banana bread and chocolate scrolls.

Marshall and Fionna cheered, diving to the table with gustatory glee. She walked towards it, already selecting what she would eat. A few cookies, she decided. Definitely a brownie or two. A few slices of banana bread and maybe a cinnamon roll.

She was muttering this under her breath, and Marshall overheard. "Don't you have to watch that slim figure?"

She tensed for a moment before she realised that he was honestly asking, not taking a dig about her being too skinny. That made a nice change from what she was used to. "Not really. It never goes anywhere." She shrugged.

"Huh. I wish I was skinny like you." Fionna said wistfully.

Juli laughed. "I'd swap with you in an instant, trust me. I wish I had curves like you do, Fionna."

The two girls laughed while the guys exchanged a lost look. Talk of body types was obviously going straight over their heads.

She flipped a cookie into the air and grabbed it between her teeth, grinning. "_Skillzzz_!" She laughed to the others, drawing out the 'Z' so they knew how she was mentally spelling it.

Fi laughed, clapping her on the shoulder. "I love this chick!" She grinned.

Juli shrugged. "I'm nothing special, really." _'What the heck? I never get compliments! Insults, yeah, but compliments?!'_

Gumball chuckled. "You _do_ have a certain charm, Juli."

"Thanks, Bubba." She smiled modestly.

"You _are_ pretty cool, Juli." Marshall agreed.

She blushed from the compliment from her crush. "Aw, you're too nice, really. You only just met me!"

"Yeah, but Marshall's normally a pretty good judge of character." Gumball said.

Fionna had a spontaneous coughing fit that sounded amazingly like the name, 'Ashley'.

"The past is the past." Marshall decreed, floating over to Juli and ruffling her hair.

"Get off of me, you loon!" She yelped, ducking away from him.

He swooped after her, then stopped in his tracks. "I shouldn't. Remember what happened last time we were screwing around like that?"

Yes, she remembered! God, if only it could happen again, this time deliberately, she could die at peace with the world. The only thing she said, however, was, "Right," and blushed.

"Why? What happened?" Fi asked.

"Nothing!" Juli and Marshall blurted out in unison, both turning ruby-red.

"_Suuure_…" Fionna nodded, obviously suspicious, while Gumball raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"Anyways, I actually gotta head back to where you found me Marshall. That might help me figure out what to do." She bit her lip. "How to get back home to my brother, Rindle…"

Marshall's eyebrows shot up for a moment, but he kept a straight face. "You're right, that's a good idea." He nodded.

She smiled at him, hoping that whatever it was he just thought of, it wasn't going to land her in _too_ much trouble.

"Well, c'mon. We're burning daylight here, girlie." He gestured to the door, picking up his umbrella. Juli grinned and followed.


	8. Truth-Teller

Juli wandered along behind Marshall, following him to the tree-filled are she'd woken up in, singing softly to herself, translating the words of her favourite lullaby, Puff The Magic Dragon, into Spanish so she didn't look like a baby in front of Marshall, who probably knew the old song.

"_Puff, el dragón mágico,_

_Vivió junto al mar,_

_Y divertido en la niebla del otoño_

_En una tierra llamada Hannah Lee_…"

"So, Juli…" Marshall started conversationally.

"Yeah, what is it, Marshy?" She smiled at him.

"Who are you, really?" He stopped abruptly, and Juli nearly crashed into him.

"W-what do you mean?" She stammered.

"You said that you only remembered your name, but you've mentioned a brother _twice_, and given a name for him- Riddle, or something? Congratulations, you stuffed up you lie." He clapped sarcastically.

She turned bright red. "I-I… I didn't mean to lie, I just-"

"It just sorta happened?" He raised an eyebrow, an accusatory look in his eyes.

"Marshall… that's not what I…" She sighed. "Look, I'm not from around here, okay? And back where I was living, I didn't have any friends. Everybody seemed to hate me except for my brother, and he's a total hermit scientist. I didn't want to tell, well, in case you guys wouldn't like me, either." She mumbled.

"But where were you living?" He asked, crossing his arms.

She searched her brain for an answer before an idea popped into mind. Ooo was supposedly about where Germany was, or the Candy Kingdom, at least, so Aaa must be, too! If she made a mental map of both Aaa and Earth, America was sort-of in the same direction as the Desert of Doom, so that solved that.

"Over that way." She pointed towards the expanses of sand visible from where they were standing.

"Okay…" Marshall didn't look totally convinced, but he just shrugged. "So, if it's so terrible, why do you want to go back?"

She opened her mouth to shoot back and angry reply, but to her surprise, nothing came to mind. Not one reason to go back to such a terrible-sounding life. She fumbled inside her head before she latched onto a mental image of her brother. "Because of Rindle!" She retorted, but she'd left it about three seconds to long to sound very sure.

"Uh-huh." He nodded. "I'm _totally _convinced, _really_."

She elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't be such a butt. Hey, wanna play Truth Teller?"

"How do you play?" He asked, distracted from his questions.

"Well, I ask you something, and you have to answer with _pure_ truth. _If_ you're careful, you can word it so that you don't tell the _whole_ truth, but you can't lie at all. If you don't want to answer, you can skip, but you have to do me a favour later. One favour for every dodged question. Got it?" She explained. He nodded. She thought for a moment before an idea popped into her head. "Who was your first crush and what was her name?" She asked teasingly.

He turned bright red and mumbled something under his breath.

"Let it be known now that your answer has to be legible." She grinned.

"Okay, okay! She was a girl I met when I was travelling, just after I left the Nightosphere. Her name was Lila." He blurted out. "Do you like anyone? _And you have to give details!_"

Fortunately for her, Juli was an expert at this game and almost never had favours due. "There's this guy I first met when I was watch TV back home. He seemed really aloof and mean at first, but as I learnt a little more about him, he seemed more like a person than a dream. I'm a little pathetic, really. His name's all over my diary, and I have a little picture of him I drew in my locket." She smiled wistfully, gesturing to the sliver heart locket she wore. "Last I really thought about it, though, I don't think he even knew I existed." She glanced over at him, and her heart gave a lurching ache. "Detailed enough?"

He nodded. "For sure." He replied.

"How far have you ever gone with a girl?" She asked suddenly, half-dreading the answer.

"Eh… Tier 8." He said, almost embarrassedly.

"Isn't that, like, making out? I'm not too clear on the Tier System, but the older terms, like 'sex', I get." She blushed at the mention of the damnable S-word.

"Um… yeah. Slight groping."

"Aha."

"Yeah."

There was a slightly awkward silence before Marshall's next question. "That guy you mentioned… what would you do with him? Or _to_ him, as the case may be?" He gave a wicked wink.

She gaped. "That is low… whatever he was comfortable with, I guess… depend on the situation. I don't wanna die a virgin, you know?"

He blinked. "I'm never gonna get a favour outta you, am I?"

"Don't feel bad. I'm, like, expert at this." She [atted him on the shoulder.

"Hey, do you even have anything of yours from home?" He asked.

"I think so… in my tote bag. Which I left at your house." She frowned.

"So, you don't have any of your of your clothes other than what you're wearing?"

"Um… no…" _'Uh-oh…'_

"And you're not really Fi's size. You want to borrow some of my stuff? As long as you don't mind jeans, you should be fine." He smiled.

"If you're offering, it would be much appreciated." She returned the smile.

"Okay. C'mon, you must be hungry, despite Bubba'a pseudo-feast. Let's head back home." He suggested.

She nodded, then realised how amazingly good those words sounded. Marshall Lee's house, her (if temporary) home.


	9. Forbidden Diary

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, since I have about five fanfictions going at the same time, I'm going to leave this one for a little, since I've been working on it heaps lately.**_

_**CUE DRAMA!**_

Juli sat on the edge of Marshall's bathtub, a bright red, fluffy towel wrapped around her as her hair dripped on the tiles, deep in thought. What could she do to get to her brother? Or, preferably, get him here? She ran ideas through her head as she readjusted her towel.

She stepped out of the bathroom and padded over to the closet after closing the bathroom door behind her. She sifted through the clothes he had to try and find something to wear. Hoping he had some skinny jeans short enough for her legs.

Suddenly, she heard him floating up the ladder, humming quietly. She couldn't let him see her in a towel! She looked around in a panic for a moment before she noticed the empty space in the closet in front of her. She dived in, sliding the door closed behind her, hoping her wouldn't look in.

He floated in, a searching look on his face. "Now, if I were a spunky Spanish _chica_, where would I hide my diary?" He muttered, sitting on his bed and pulling her bag towards him.

She stifled a squeak, cupping her hand over her mouth. He was looking through her things for her _diary_?! _What the junk?!_

He pulled it out after a few more moments, a notebook with a homemade cover, beads sown in a careful flower design and a little string loop around another larger bead holding it closed. He pulled the loop off, opening it and muttering to himself. "'Property of Juliana Carmelita Juanita Isabella Eleanora Estella Morlan. Read at your own risk.' Huh. She really _is_ vicious, even if she refuses to admit it. Let's see… 'Fourteenth January. I wonder what I'd ever do if I met Marshall Lee. It's be like a dream come true, though. He's so different from any other person I've ever met or seen. He's unique in a lot of ways, and he flaunts it. Plus, of course, he's sooo cute! The dark hair, semi-careless style and that rich voice give me shivers. Not to even mention his singing! That boy has everything right about it, that's for sure.' What the…" He blinked stupidly.

Juli broke from her shock and exploded out of the closet. "How _dare_ you?!" She roared. "How _dare_ you paw through _my_ stuff and read my _diary_?! What's _wrong_ with you?!"

"J-juli?!" He shoved the diary and bag away from himself. "I, uh, I was just-"

"You were just completely destroying my trust and invading my privacy!" She yelled, cheeks going red. "You-you _loco idiota cabezazo disimulado significa vampiro incompetente grosero_!"

"Juli, I was just trying to find out who the heck you were talking about earlier. When you were telling me about your nameless crush, you just… lit up. You looked so freaking happy, and I couldn't stop wondering who it was to make you so happy just by you thinking about them." Marshall explained quietly.

Juli paused. "You happy now you've gone through my stuff when you could've just asked me? I don't even care about that," She lied, "That entry was forever ago, anyways. I'm more thinking about the fact that that diary has some very special and very private things in it, like my-my parents." Her voice caught in her throat for a moment, but she pushed away the emotion and instead focused on the bitter rage that was building up in her chest. "I… I can't stand another moment in here, with _you_!" She dived past him and scrabbled down the ladder. "I'm out of here!" She yelled, grabbing her bag as she went.

"Juli! You're being really irrational right now!" He exclaimed, following her and trying to catch hold of one of her arms.

She swatted him away, lashing out at his face. "Get away from me!"

One of her hands caught him in the side of the face, making him jump back for a moment, and that was all Juli needed to escape out the front door.

She ran out into the cave, eyes swimming with tears. "_Déjame en paz, Marshall!" _ She yelled.

"Juli, don't do this." He said quietly. "Please don't do this." He held out a hand towards her.

"I said, leave me alone!" She screamed hysterically. "Don't touch me, or look at me, and go drown yourself while you're at it!"

"Juli, just calm down!" He tried again, but she took another step back.

"Get away from me! I ca-" She was cut off as she tripped over a rock, landing on her back, leg twisting awkwardly as she hit the ground.

Marshall jumped forwards to help her up, but she glared at him, giving a half-growl, half-sob. He stepped back, eyes wide.

"Juli, let me help you up." He said quietly, coming forwards again.

Her eyes flashed, and she rifled in her bag for a moment before coming up with a small can of pepper spray. "I'll use it!" She threatened, wielding it at his face.

He deflated slightly. "Alright. If you really want to go, I can't stop you." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He backed away slowly from he, hands held out in front of him cautiously, and disappeared through his front door.

Juli watched carefully, getting up and picking up her bag before limping away, feeling the Vampire King's eyes drilling worriedly into her back.

She wobbled out of the cave and a few hundred metres away into the trees before she sat on a fallen tree, emotion surging through her body as the tears leaked from her eys, sobs wrenching themselves from her throat as she realised what had just happened.

Her mood was not helped by the fact that it was here that she also noticed that she was still wrapped in nothing but the fluffy red towel from Marshall Lee's bathroom.


End file.
